Ricardo Ramiro |
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I am broadly interested on the application of evolutionary, ecological and behavioral principles to the study of infectious diseases agents. These organisms face similar problems to more traditional model organisms in evolutionary biology, both providing interesting advantages to the later and being a relevant test to the generality of evolutionary theory. During my PhD I have applied evolutionary theories, as sex allocation or life-history theory to the study of malaria parasites. I have focused on three main areas: a) The effects of immunity on sexual reproduction and sex allocation; b) Inter-species mating interactions and the evolution of gamete recognition genes; and c) The effects of mixed-species infections on parasite growth and virulence. Other topics in which I am particularly interested include: how pathogens use information to predict future host state and adjust their strategies (phenotypic plasticity); how parasites escape the immune system and whether this affects their life-history decisions; and the molecular evolution of pathogen adaptation. |
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